Fashion retailer Asos drafts in lawyers to investigate sexual harassment allegations

On-line vogue retailer Asos drafted in impartial legal professionals to research sexual harassment allegations.

The £3.8billion firm and different vogue manufacturers had been hit by a barrage of claims of inappropriate behaviour on an nameless Instagram account.

It was claimed Asos was run like a ‘boys’ membership’. 

One lady mentioned a senior member of workers had made feedback about her breasts, whereas one other mentioned an older male colleague had winked or stared at feminine workers, and ‘loitered’ across the firm’s headquarters after work, a report in The Every day Telegraph mentioned.

Asos and different vogue manufacturers had been hit by a barrage of claims of inappropriate behaviour on an nameless Instagram account (inventory picture)

Zehra Hussain, who left Asos after three years in Might final yr, mentioned the person on the centre of this declare had behaved in a ‘sleazy’ method at work. 

Complaints to the corporate have included allegations of sexual harassment, racism, bullying and homophobia, in response to the report within the newspaper, which claimed it had spoken to dozens of workers. 

Following the revelations within the spring, the corporate invited workers to come back ahead if they’d issues and appointed Metropolis solicitors Lewis Silkin to help the evaluate. 

The probe is known to have completed and human sources groups are working by means of a ‘handful’ of instances raised, firm sources mentioned yesterday. 

Asos mentioned: ‘As quickly as we grew to become conscious of the allegations about us and different manufacturers… we launched an inside evaluate, supported by authorized consultants.’ 

It’s the newest instance of the style trade being thrown into the highlight over sexual harassment claims.

Following the revelations within the spring, the corporate invited workers to come back ahead if they’d issues and appointed Metropolis solicitors Lewis Silkin to help the evaluate (inventory picture)

Ted Baker founder Ray Kelvin was compelled to face down from the corporate following allegations of ‘compelled hugging’ and kissing feminine workers’s ears. He denied the claims.

The previous boss of Topshop’s Arcadia Sir Philip Inexperienced was accused in 2019 of utilizing gagging clauses to silence workers accusing him of sexual and racial harassment.

Claims made by a pilates teacher in America that the fallen tycoon ‘slapped her butt’ had been thrown out by a decide final yr.

The ‘Me Too’ motion, which began in Hollywood within the US, and Black Lives Matter have sparked a wave of shock about sexual harassment and racial discrimination at work.

Earlier this month, the promoting trade got here into focus after a senior govt posted a weblog about inappropriate office behaviour, which led to lots of of girls sharing their tales of being sexually assaulted, harassed and discriminated towards.